Yahaya Bello used N829m of state funds to pay child’s school fees in advance – EFCC

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, alleged that former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello withdrew $720,000 (N829.3 million) of state funds through a Bureau de Change operator and used it to pay for his child’s school fees in advance.

This fresh revelation was revealed on Tuesday in a chat between EFCC chairman Olukoyede and journalists at the Commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja.

A sitting governor, because he knew he was leaving office, moved money directly from the government to Bureau de Change (and) used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance, says Olukoyede.

Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency had attempted to prosecute Yahaya Bello on a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering of N80 billion.

Bello was allegedly whisked away by his predecessor, Usman Ododo, on April 17, 2024, on notice that the EFCC wanted to arrest him at his Abuja residence.

Bello has since been declared wanted on obstruction and failure to adhere to the law on financial crimes and placed on high alert on sight near the airport across the country by the Nigerian Immigration Service.

While he remains at large, evading the criminal charges against him, the EFCC Chairman vowed to follow the probing to a logical conclusion, saying that he would resign if Bello is not prosecuted.

He also vowed to prosecute those obstructing the agency’s operatives from arresting the former governor.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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